Chapter 4: Alicia Cloden's Decision (4)

After what had happened in that dining room, the duchy had fallen strangely silent. There was a tension as if a thin thread was waiting to break. A week had passed since then and I had stopped eating with them again.

It was healthier for me as every meal I ate seeing their faces gave me indigestion.

"My lady, your carriage is ready," the maid said and I nodded.

I had to go to Madame Cyntia for a final check of my dress. Seeing me in the hallway, Estelle paused briefly and then looked at me, her green eyes flickering. When she grabbed the sleeve of my dress as I was about to pass her, my gaze traveled first to her hand and then to her face.

When I looked at her, her cheeks flushed and she hurriedly pulled her hand away as if she had done something wrong.

"Well... How are you?" she asked me with sadness on her face and I looked at her expressionlessly. Why was she asking me that question? Was he feeling sad after what happened that day? Anyway, she definitely got on my nerves.

As I was about to say "I'm fine" and leave, I looked at her when she called my name again. As she looked at me silently, I frowned thinking about the car driver waiting for me outside.

''If you don't have anything to say, stop taking up other people's time. Unlike you, I'm quite busy right now,'' I said and went out without giving her a chance to say anything.

When I got into the car waiting for me, the coachman started to drive the car towards Madame Cyntia's workplace. As I leaned back with a sigh, I didn't understand why Estelle was looking at me like that.

To be honest, it was funny. Even though she was six months younger than me and had been raised with love until she was blind, she wasn't stupid. She was aware of our family's attitude towards me and never once questioned it.

She was the one who chose to look the other way, even though she had seen with her own eyes the cold looks her father gave me and how her mother whipped me to punish me. And what? Now she was going to say she was sorry or something?

Did she really expect me to believe that? She had played the blind and the deaf well over the years. None of them understood why I left home. Their love for each other was poison to me.

When the car stopped in front of Madame Cyntia's store, I got out with the help of the coachman. When I saw the crowded street, I felt how excited they were for the founding day of the empire.

When I entered the store, a beautiful middle-aged woman approached me with a big smile.

"Lady Cloden, welcome," she greeted me respectfully.

"Welcome, madam. It seems that you are busier than usual today," I said, as the ladies who had been casting furtive glances my way exchanged glances with me and then looked away.

Since this was perhaps the most famous dress shop in the empire, all the ladies who had their dresses made here felt very lucky.

This made me happy because as someone who had sponsored and supported Madame Cyntia from the beginning, her success was my success too.

"I always have time for you, Lady Cloden. I have prepared the upstairs for you," and I went upstairs under the stares of the others.

Since this would be the last ball I would ever attend, I wanted it to be given more attention than usual. Three different outfits had been made for the three-day ball.

The dress I tried on for the first night was a dress with red and gold leaf embroidery and a slit. The dress I was going to wear for the second night was a white dress from the chest up and a dark pink and powder-colored dress with a beige bottom layer and a dark pink top layer, also with gold embroidery.

The dress I would wear on the last night was a mermaid model dress that turned from blue to green under the light. The lower part of the skirt had three layers and sparkling stones were sewn on the ends. The details on the bust and waist made it even more interesting.

"I love the dresses, you have done an excellent job as always, Madame."

"I'm so glad you like them, Lady Cloden. My employees and I put a lot of effort into making you shine at the ball," she said, looking at me with happy, sparkling eyes.

Her employees were no different. As they all admired me, I looked at myself in the mirror. They really were the perfect dresses for the last ball. Madame Cyntia said she would make a few more adjustments while I was wearing the dresses and sent me home.

Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to have lunch at a restaurant famous for its food. When I entered the restaurant, one of the waiters took me upstairs to the terrace. The table was in the shade and had a view of the busy street.

As I waited for my order, I started to watch the street, and a strange feeling filled me as I saw faces full of joy and happiness. Even though I had decided to leave, this time of year was my favorite time of year too.

Even though I had only been attending these festivities for three years, it was still fun. They seemed to make up for the bad times I'd had at Cloden Manor.

After the waiter brought my food and left, I started to eat. I was having a very peaceful day until I heard the voices of the ladies at the table behind me.